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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

How to make a skateboard swing

I am sure a lot of you have seen the skateboard swing on pinterest. I thought it would be fun to make one for our swing set. I don't have any trees large enough, so putting it on a swing set required a bit of thinking.
Items needed:
1. skateboard
2. rope
3. brackets
4. eye hooks
5. S hooks
6. 4x4 piece

Tools needed:
Drill
hammer
nails
6" bolts (or however large you need to bolt through the swing set posts
lighter (to singe the rope ends so they don't frey and you can feed it through the holes).

Drill holes in your skateboard large enough for your ropes to go through. Make sure they are wide enough to create a stable base. The holes that were there from the wheels are too close together.

Cut 2 wooden dowels for some handles. Drill one hole in each side and feed the rope through. I used para cord. Be sure to check weight limits on all you ropes, brackets, and hooks. I made the loop at the top of the rope, made a small knot, then fed the rope through the other side of the handle. Be sure to leave your knots loose so you can adjust anything that needs adjustment when it is all put together.

The ends of the rope will now get fed through the holes in the skateboard. Under the skateboard, you can make a square knot. This is a knot my dad taught me. It will not slip under pressure but it is very easy to undo and adjust. Start by tying the first part of the square (just like you would start tying a shoe).

Create another side of the knot by going to opposite way. It should look like this. Then pull it snug (not too tight yet, I guarantee you will have to make adjustments).

We used this bracket to attache the 4 x 4 to the top of the swing set. There were 2 more added, one on each side.

You can see the other bracket, and also the eye hook and s hooks we used. We tied a knot in the top of the rope to help each side hold its length.

I tried it out first to guarantee it's sturdiness, before I would let my kids try it. To be honest, it is fun! My kids are small still, but as they get bigger I think I will add another support under the 4x4 on each side. One that looks like a V to bring the support out towards the ends of the 4 x 4.